Fall of Meteor
by Sorceress Zelda
Summary: In depth novelization of the game Final Fantasy VII. :D


**The Fall of Meteor**

**Chapter One**

**The Mercenary**

It was late afternoon. People were hurrying around, going back to work after lunch, going back home after running errands, or just going on a stroll. There was no sun in Midgar, so like always, it was dark. The only light in the city was the light from buildings, and one very special light usually found around here. Mako energy.

In Sector 8, there was a theatre. The theatre was the Loveless Theatre, the theatre that played the most popular show in Midgar -LOVELESS. While people were in watching the show, there was someone else near that theatre. But she wasn't in the theatre, she was kneeling outside of it. A soft green light shone off her face; the source of the light was an unearthly light shining out of the side of the building. The girl knelt there, her hands folded, her eyes closed.

Sitting next to her was a basket full of flowers, some of the rarest things in Midgar. Without the sun, it was hard for things to grow. This girl was selling flowers for a living.

Soon, the sound of chatting people got louder, so she knew that the performance of LOVELESS must have finished.

The girl stood up, grabbed her basket, and left the alley between the theatre and a restaurant. As soon as she did so, a woman smiled at her.

"Hello Aerith," the woman said. The girl smiled back, her green eyes sparkling.

"Hello," Aerith replied, "would you like to buy a flower for one gil?"

"Of coarse," the woman said, placing the gil in Aerith's hand.

"Thank you," Aerith beamed, then gave the woman a pink lily. "Here you go."

"Oh, it's beautiful Aerith! Thank you."

Aerith nodded curtly, then she was on her way.

The Wutai War was over, and almost all in Midgar was at peace. Aerith was one of those people who seemed not to have a care in the world. There were only two parts of Aerith that didn't feel at peace. One was a small portion of her heart; it had two scars. The scar of the death of her adopted father, and the scar of the death of a SOLDIER she loved dearly. The other was something brewing inside of her. This thing made her feel uneasy, and this thing made her fear the sky. She wasn't exactly sure what it was, but she was pretty sure. Other than those two things, though, everything was right in Aerith's world.

But even though the war was over, some people were still fighting. Not for freedom, not for domination, but for something more important than that. Their planet.

A train was running on one of Midgar's railroad tracks. There was a man standing on top of the train. This man had spiky blonde hair. He wore an indigo sleeveless shirt and matching pants, black boots, gauntlets, and a pauldron over his left shoulder: the SOLDIER uniform. His eyes…

His eyes glowed. They glowed in a way that looked like a cat's eyes, but they were brighter, blue, and had human-like pupils. All and all, this man looked like a SOLDIER. But he wasn't one. Or at least, he wasn't one anymore.

The man knelt on one knee on the roof of the train, gripping his large-bladed sword so tightly his knuckles turned white. Carefully, he stood up. Despite the wind due the fast-moving train, the man stood with perfect balance.

The train's destination was one of the Mako Reactors, and soon, the man noticed they were nearing it. The train lurched to a stop, making the man lose his balance. He took a step forward to regain his balance, then stood there for a while, allowing the other passengers to get off the train.

One by one, the passengers got off. First, a woman with brown hair stepped off. Her hair was tied out of her face in a ponytail, and she wore a red bandana around her head like a headband. She wore metal armor, green shorts, and combat boots. The next passenger was a man. He had black hair, and he wore a red bandana around his head, similar to the woman's. He wore a dark olive green shirt, green shorts, and combat boots. The third passenger was a man slightly bigger than the woman and the first man, but he was still small compared to the last passenger. He wore a light olive green shirt with straps crossing his chest, blue shorts, and he too wore a red bandanna around his head and combat boots. The final passenger was a large, dark-skinned man. He wore a dirty brown vest, green pants, combat boots, and a black fingerless glove on one hand. The other hand didn't need a glove. There wasn't another hand. On his other arm, the man had a gun instead of an arm.

As soon as all the other passengers had gotten off the train and had wiped-out two ShinRa attendants, the man on top of the train jumped off. Putting the large-bladed sword on a place on his back (being held by a magnet), he folded his arms and looked around him at the others. He would be working with them.

"C'mon, newcomer," the dark-skinned man said to him, "follow me."

The group hurried down the platform, and around the corner. As soon as they did so, two guards realized their presence and attacked. The others left the blonde-haired man to fight as they ran on ahead. The man sighed.

_Do I really have to fight _these_ people? _he wondered. _This is going to be simple. _

At the same time, both guards began shooting at the man. The man thrust his blade in front of him, causing the bullets to ricochet. Then he attacked back, stabbing one guard in the gut. As the large blade impaled the man, the other guard hesitated. But it was too late for him to run, and he ended with the same fate as his companion. The blonde-haired man put his sword away, then ran to catch up with his co-workers.

The four others stood by a gate, the gate that led through Midgar to the Mako Reactor.

"Wow!" the black-haired man said. "You used to be in SOLDIER, all right! …Not every day ya find one in a group like AVALANCH."

The woman turned. "SOLDIER?" she asked. "Isn't that the enemy? What's he doing with us in AVALANCH?"

"Hold it, Jessie," the first man replied. "He _was_ a SOLDIER. He quit them and now he's one of us." He turned back to the blonde haired man. "Didn't catch your name…" he said.

"…Cloud Strife," the blonde man replied.

"Cloud, eh? I'm.."

"I don't care what your names are," Cloud replied. "Once this job's over… I'm outta here."

"The hell are you all doin'!?" the dark-skinned man asked angrily. "I thought I told you never to move in a group!"

He glanced angrily at his companions, and almost growled when it looked as if Cloud didn't care and wasn't listening. The growl hitched in his throat, he continued.

"Our target's the North Mako Reactor. We'll meet on the bridge in front of it."

The two men and one woman nodded, then disappeared through the gate. The dark-skinned man was about to follow, but he stopped halfway though the gate.

"Ex-SOLDIER, huh?" he said to Cloud. "I don't trust ya!"

The man growled slightly, then turned and entered the gate.

Cloud looked at the Reactor. _So we're going to blow that up?_

Cloud shrugged, then followed the dark-skinned man through the gate.

Aerith walked through Midgar's streets, careful for anything (or anyone, if you know what I mean) that could be a threat to her. But then again, she didn't really have to worry about anything like that. But a pretty twenty-two-year-old woman had to be sure she was safe. She smiled sincerely at everyone she passed, and sold a few extra flowers.

_Oh, Zack, _she smiled sadly to herself, _I wish you were here. Your plan for selling flowers is a smashing success. _As tears threatened to pour from Aerith's eyes, she added, _I miss you. I miss you so much._

Aerith wiped the single tear that had streamed down her kind face away, then turned down the street where the church was. This church was her sanctuary. She would sit there, day dream, and even mourn over her two great losses. There, she could be herself. There, she felt safe.

Aerith still had Zack on her mind as she walked into the old church, so when she did so, memories of the time had spent with Zack in that church flooded back to her. She remembered the day she met Zack, and almost laughed. She closed her eyes, and flashbacked to that moment.

_Fifteen-year-old Aerith walked through the church and knelt down at the bed of flowers. Stroking the top of the flowers lightly with one hand, she began to water the flowers, humming to herself as she did so. But soon, there was a _CRASH! _from the ceiling above her, and before she knew it, she was knocked completely to the floor by a heavy weight._

"_OW!" the teenaged girl cried as her head hit the wood floor. _

What _was_ that? _she wondered, pushing her upper-body up. She shifted her weight in a way that made it possible to see what had landed on her without moving it. _

_It was a _man. _A man had fallen on her. He had longish black hair, and he was wearing something that Aerith guessed to be a SOLDIER uniform. She lugged his body off of her, then pressed her hand down lightly on his neck. Feeling a pulse, she began calling, "He-lloo!"_

_The man stirred around, but she called out again. "He-lloo!"_

"_Mom…?" the man asked, seaming to be asleep._

"_Mom?" Aerith asked, almost amused._

"_I want to help a friend of mine…" the man murmured._

"_Well, you have to wake up first! He-lloo!"_

"_Mom?"_

"_He-lloo!"_

_The man's eyes opened. His eyes were a haunting shade of blue. He looked at her._

"_How did I get here…?" he asked._

_Aerith smiled, and pointing up, she said, "You fell from the sky."_

Aerith burst out laughing, remember the look on her dearly beloved's face when she said that. But as she laughed, tears of sorrow began to fall again.

Cloud was walking up the stairs that led to the Mako Reactor, following after the dark-skinned man.

"The name's Barret Wallace," the man said as they walked. "You need to know that."

Cloud and Barret soon neared the entrance to the Reactor, and Barret stopped at the door.

"This your first time in an Reactor?" he asked.

"No," Cloud replied. "I did used to work for Shinra, y'know."


End file.
